Helping Hinata
by Sakura4eva
Summary: She was the new girl in school and was only trying to survive high school unnoticed. Then a certain sunny blonde introduces her to his group of friends and, little by little, the gang unravels the mystery that is Hinata Hyuuga. Main: NaruHina. Side: SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaIno. (Fixed version of 'What's Wrong Hina-Chan')
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Consider it **disclaimed**.

**Helping Hinata**  
Ch.1 - A New Start

The indigo haired girl sighed as she stepped out of her family's car, pearly-violet eyes scanning the large, overcrowded building ahead of her. Yet again, she was being sent to a new school:a new place for her to hide away in her shell as she had always done - or try to fit in, as her parents had hoped. They wanted a place where she would not be pushed around and uncomfortable, a place where she could belong.

She shook her head and turned to say goodbye to her chauffeur. "Tha-thank you." She whispered, her long bangs sweeping slightly into her face.

The driver of her family's car smiled gently. "I'll come to pick you up at three then. At least try to make some friends, eh Midge."

Hinata smiled shyly back to him, taking some comfort in the old nickname. The man was an old business associate of her father's who was supported by her father once he lost his old well-paying job and was stuck for a way to support his own family. "I-I'll try, Tom."

That said, she took her bag and settled it on her back, turning and shutting the door behind her. _'Me? Make friends?! Ha! Yeah, and why not get a boyfriend, too!'_ she thought sarcastically. Her mind was the only place she was brave. It was possibly the only place she felt truly safe, even including her house.

Stepping into the packed hallways, she glanced around nervously. Crowded areas always made her want to break down crying. Hinata was jostled around, as she tried to make it to the office. She took out a map that she had previously put in her jean pocket and unfolded it.

Staring at the creased paper intensely, she found the office! It was just a turn to the-

Hinata's thoughts were interrupted when a rather, in her sarcastic mind, _'joyous'_ red haired boy pushed passed her, knocking her and her map to the floor.

_'NO! Where did that paper go? That boy will most definitely pay! I will torture him and I will...'_ She cursed to herself. _'I will only scream and swear at him in my head, while he goes and terrorizes anyone without guts... Like myself.'_ Hinata sighed forlornly, still on the ground and not really caring.

Apparently, though, someone noticed her distress, and came bounding – yes, bounding – over to the shy girl.

"OI! You need some help?" The person called out.

Hinata whipped her head in the direction of the voice. What she saw, took her breath away. It was a boy who looked to be about her age with sun-kissed, defiant hair. His ocean blue eyes were watching her for any signs of distress.

She was just about to say no when he held out a hand and smiled warmly. "Naruto Uzumaki! I'll help you out, okay?"

Hinata gratefully took his hand and offered him a nervous smile. "H-Hinata Hy-" she mumbled, stopping before she told him her last name. It was too well known and this was a chance!

Naruto grinned, apparently not noticing the lack of her family name. "Where you headed? Office?" he asked.

She nodded and he pulled her along. She noticed how whenever anyone saw him, they moved out of the way. Not like they had with the dark-haired boy she had noticed earlier. With that onyx eyed 'god', it seemed, some had swooned around him, and all moved out of respect. With her current companion, they moved out of the way almost out of terror.

No. That wasn't quite right either. With that red haired teen, they moved out of terror. Was it disgust that they moved? Whatever it was, they still got to the office and this boy was extremely kind to her. ...And talkative. The ENTIRE time there, he was going on about the school, or what to look out for, or sports, or his friends. Especially his friends.

"-And Sakura! Oh, you'd love her! Same with Tenten, she's a year older than us, but still hangs around. So does Ino. I don't personally like her, but she has her moments. Temari too! Those two are always fighting over Shikamaru... Although I don't think Ino really knows. She's always hanging around Sasuke. He's such a bastard! But, believe it or not, we're best friends... Sakura hangs around him too. She says she doesn't like him and that she only did in elementary school, but we know better!" He laughed at that.

You'd think this quiet girl would hate all the noise, but much to her surprise, she loved it! She somehow was starting to trust this young, kind, teen. _'So much different than-'_

Once again, she was interrupted by the energetic blond. "Here we are, Hinata-chan! ...You don't mind I call you that, right?"

"I-I don't m-mind, N-Naruto-san." She whispered.

"San?!" He laughed at the respectful suffix. "Nah! Just Naruto, thanks!"

While she normally would feel far too embarrassed to go along with something so bold, having been raised to follow a certain level of decorum, the offer relaxed her and she let out a minuscule smile. Thankful that he hadn't noticed her first attempt at showing happiness in a while, she took her papers shyly from the waiting hand of a lady in the office. _'Maybe this school wouldn't be so bad!'_

"Naruto..." she mumbled, trying the name out.

"Hmmm? What is it?" he asked.

"Eep! N-Nothing!" 'Yeah, this school couldn't be that bad if it had people like Naruto in it!' she thought absentmindedly as she read her class schedule.

"So what classes do you-" He gaped. "We have all but one class together and that one you have with all the girls!"

_'Not too bad at all!'_

"Want me to walk you to your classroom?"

The prospect was tempting but she needed to stop by her locker first and she had already troubled him enough. Besides, this would really only mean anything if she did at least this by herself. "Th-thank you, N-Naruto, but...I'll see you there."

–

Hinata glanced nervously around her first classroom from out the door. She really should have taken up Naruto's offer of being walked to the class room – screw her pride! She had had issues navigating the route to her locker and from there to the class room, so by the time she arrived at the door, the hallways were dead and she was fairly certain she'd already missed the late bell.

Then again, she wasn't sure if Naruto would want to be bothered so much and felt uneasy about requesting too much of someone she had only just met. Hinata had only ever had two friends: one was her younger sister Hanabi, who was shy, but no where near as shy as Hinata. The other was Tom. Even with them, families fought (and Hinata's even more and harsher than most) and Tom was first and foremost her father's right-hand man which meant nothing could be confided and not much could be related to.

As she was getting lost deeper within her thoughts, the bell actually did ring and furthered Hinata's depressing wishes to just go home and forget this had ever happened – maybe try again tomorrow. Then something she hadn't even considered happened: the door flung open and a familiar face stuck out the door, annoyed but also a _tad_ anxious.

"Eh? Hinata-chan?!"

Hinata sputtered incoherently for a moment so Naruto reached out and pulled Hinata into the room. "Hey guys! Couldn't find Kakashi-sensei but look who I did find! Told you she was real!"

Seriously confused, the bewildered girl looked to where she was being pulled to and noticed it was a group of people. The exact kind of group Hinata tried to avoid: large and from the looks of things already, deeply connected.

She tried to get out of his grasp but Naruto noticed her discomfort and whispered, "They're great friends. They aren't as obnoxious as they look." He then took a glance at where a blond sat polishing her nails and scoffing at a purple nail that just wouldn't keep the glitter on it. "Well, most aren't!" Naruto laughed which gained the group's attention.

"Are you talking about me, Naru-baka?" Ino yelled at him. Then she noticed the shy, long haired girl beside him. "Ooooh!" she squealed. "Who's that?"

Naruto grinned. "She's new here! Her names Hinata!"

Hinata's eyes widened as everyone's heads turned to look at her.

"You mean you weren't lying when you said you met a girl today?" one of the guys asked, then proceeded to laugh uproariously with a few of the other guys, receiving an indignant "hey!" then a sarcastic "oh har-de-har" from Naruto.

The girls in the group all stood up and walked right up next to her, completely ignoring the boys. "Hmm. Hinata, eh? Doesn't she look like a certain white-eyed brooder in the corner," the short, pink-haired girl asked her friends.

Her two friends nodded and the one with brown buns on top her head piped up. "I don't think her personality is at all like him, though. Good thing, too..." she murmured, her chocolate brown eyes seemed to be laughing as she continued on. "Are you possibly related to Neji Hyuuga?"

It was then that Hinata's world felt it was about to be crashing down on her. He couldn't go here... Could he? "Uhh... Well... Ano..."

"Are you talking about me again, Tenten? Hmph."

They all turned to the voice and while the other girls in the group grinned and tried to play innocent, Hinata just heard one thing after his sentence.

'Boom.'

That was her world caving in on top of her. She thought he went to the school on the other side of town! Why here?

"Who's tha-" he started, but immediately stopped. He'd recognized that girl anywhere. "Hinata... What are you doing here?!" he snapped.

The poor girl gasped sharply and her eyes started to water. He was here and she wasn't just stuck in some nightmare. "N-Neji-nii-s-"

"Tch. Figures you'd have to come here. I was told you had moved." Neji then turned around with a scoff and went back to his seat in the corner mumbling something about hating formalities and being called 'nii'.

All the of people in group glanced back and forth from the two white-eyed relatives, but quickly decided to move on for the sake of regaining some peace.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka. Can I call you Hina-chan?" The blond girl stuck out a perfectly manicured hand to the quivering girl now sitting on the ground from fear or shock, she wasn't sure.

"H-hai. Nice to meet you, I-Ino-chan." Hinata reached up and allowed herself to be pulled up.

"Great! That's Haruno Sakura, my best friend," she pointed her forefinger to the pink haired smiling girl who waved. "Tenten, another close friend," this time pointing to the bun haired girl who was looking rather deadly with her... Were those knives?! "They both have extreme tempers but their barks and bites are debatable to which is worse." Hinata was now slightly pale but nodded for her new friend to continue in the introductions.

"Then there's the boys," Ino indicated towards the group of unpleasant, brooding boys in the corner beside Neji. "Gaara, Sasuke Uchiha, and Neji Hyuuga. Never mess with them, and you'll do great!"

Hinata was not only pale by now, but also shaking uncontrollably. She recognized all three. Gaara was the redhead who knocked her over in the hall, Sasuke was the brooding 'God', and Neji was the cold teen of a Hyuuga; someone Hinata knew very well.

"Ino! Stop scaring her. We can talk about the jerks later, let's introduce our actual _friends_." Sakura cut in with a glare to the corner, which was shot back from all three, but mainly Gaara. "This is Kiba Inuzuka, Naruto Uzumaki, whom you've already met, Lee Rock, Chouji Achimaki, and Shikamaru Nara." she introduced pointing to each boy in order.

Kiba was the rather tall boy with light brown hair and football paint on his tanned cheeks; clearly an athlete. He also looked strong with his basketball shorts and muscle shirt showing off lean, toned muscles. Hinata recognized him as the one who had been teasing Naruto.

Lee... Lee had a very shiny, black bowl cut with large, black eyes and large, black eyebrows to match. His green shirt hugged his skinny body closely and he wore black stretchy pants with orange leg warmers. He struck Hinata as a rather fascinating person however, because what stood out most to her was the sheer air of determination around him, especially when he mentioned his life-long rivalry with Neji (okay, so he screamed it out, but he couldn't seem to help it).

Chouji had light brown hair that spiked up with matching brown eyes. He just wore casual clothes - a white t-shirt, dark brown khaki shorts, and a light green jacket with runners. Perhaps he wasn't skinny, the burliest of the whole group, but he seemed much like a teddy bear rather than someone scary and Ino informed her that he did, in fact, give the best hugs.

Shikamaru, or 'Shika-kun' as Ino called him, wore his dark brown hair up in a high ponytail but he seemed like he would much rather be in bed or, as he muttered a few times, on a grassy hill outside. He also wore casual clothes, but still different than Chouji's. Shikamaru was very skinny looking and tall, more of a brain than a brawns. Still, he was too lazy to be considered a 'nerd' in the ranks of high school but according to everyone he still had an extremely high IQ...

Lastly Naruto whom she already knew with his spiky blond hair and same deep blue eyes. He too, seemed strong in a more casual way and he wore ... a lot of orange. He was like sunshine.

Hinata smiled and nodded at each one, mumbling a small 'hello' to be polite now that she had recovered from her little scare.

"So..." Tenten started. "Do you want to know about the brooders?"

Hinata hesitated for a moment. Did she really? _'Pshaw! I can take on those pathetic wimps! I still need my revenge!'_ She ranted inwardly for a moment before coming to the conclusion that she really did want to know. "O-OK."

Tenten grinned. "They're all asses!"

"Tenten!" Ino and Sakura laughed.

"OK, OK!" Tenten giggled. "First off, Hyuuga Neji."

Hinata gulped slightly but nodded for her to continue.

"Neji used to be a really good friend. He was Lee's best friend and mine. We've known each other since grade five. It was always just us. If one got in trouble, the others did too, so we would be fair." She told her with sad, fond smile.

"W-what happened?" Hinata asked, timidly.

"New family moved into the neighborhood from Suna." Tenten shot a glare to the boys in the corner, this time going by unnoticed. "Gaara. But hey! At least that family brought some good, too!"

"Good? Who else?" Hinata was now getting interested.

"His siblings! Temari, Kankurou... and Sakura Haruno." Tenten finished.

"Tenten! I told you not to tell..." Sakura grumbled. "Not many people know. In fact, they only know that Kankurou and Gaara are related. Tema-nee-chan doesn't say a thing about her relatives and only Tema and I even chat at school. Our brothers glare or ignore us completely!" she explained.

"Y-you're related to Gaara?! W-what's he like?" Hinata asked Sakura, amazed and stunned.

"Well... Believe it or not, he's really overprotective of me, but not in front of his friends. Kankurou and Temari both are protective, but not as drastically as Gaara. He is the older twin, after all." Sakura sighed.

"Twins?! Wow..." Hinata was so astonished, she forgot all about stuttering.

"Yep. It's a pain..." She laughed. "Wanna here about the rest?"

"Sure!" Now that it was interesting, Hinata thought she'd better.

"OK. Back with Neji. Tenten?" Sakura motioned for Tenten to continue.

"Right. As I was saying, Neji used to hang out with all of us. He was extremely athletic and kind – when he wanted, of course!" All the group laughed, and the three boys in the corner even looked over. They seemed to be having fun.

Tenten continued on. "Anyways, once Gaara and Sakura moved in, he was even nice enough to go greet them, but he started hanging out with Gaara more and more and seeing us less and less. It's like a scale or teeter-totter for Neji. He's either all in or all out. He has always picked one side or the other ever since kindergarten. Just take Lee and I for example! He chose us when he could've been really popular." Tenten smile in recollection then regained her frown. "Well, he once again was all in or out. Unfortunately, this time he didn't choose us."

Hinata now understood, but could Neji really have been like that? She must've only remembered him after he had already met Gaara. "Neji-nii... Er... N-Neji-san and I are c-cousins. I d-don't remember m-much from when w-were young but I do from j-just a couple years a-ago." She sighed at those memories.

The rest of the group stared at Hinata in astonishment! "You're related to Neji? No way!" Ino then laughed. "But that does explain the eyes!"

Hinata nodded. "W-we aren't close, th-though. N-not at all.."

The others understood and changed the subject. It seemed to be rather sore. "Want to hear about Sasuke? He's the last one." Ino asked.

Hinata noticed Sakura flinch and was about to decline for her sake, when the door swung open.

"Into your seats, everyone!" A voice from the front called out, and Hinata looked up to see a woman about thirty years old, presumably Hinata's new homeroom teacher. "We have a lot to cover today and your home room teacher has been switched over to me for the new semester." Naruto grinned and muttered to Kiba something about a man named 'Kakashi' and the two snickered quietly. "We also have new student joining us," she announced and beckoned for Hinata to come up, which she did hesitantly. "This is Hinata Hyuuga. I am Ms. Kurenai Yuuhi and welcome to Konoha High."

**AN: **Erk. So it has been forever and while it seems like I'm not changing much just yet, you'll see! Since I pretty much have figured out how this is all going to go and it's mostly going to be extremely edited and/or extended, the chapters should come out _fairly_ quickly. Or perhaps that's wishful thinking on my part. ;) (*laughs*) In any case, I definitely have missed the writing side of FanFiction so this might just be fun again~! (*crosses fingers*)

- Cady


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Consider it **disclaimed**.

**Helping Hinata**

Ch. 2 – That Little Encouragement

Hinata's morning classes went by slowly, with many stuttered introductions and new school work that she had never learned how to do before. Of course, she didn't have very many problems catching on, unlike her new blond friend who sat beside her in almost all of her classes, but she still had _some_ difficulties. Mainly these occurred in explaining to Naruto how to do math equations or helping him pour the liquids in Chemistry. Unfortunately, she let go for a moment, and Naruto spilled_ EVERYTHING_ on their table all over the floor. This resulted in her also helping him with cleaning.

It felt to her that _he_ was the new student, while she had been there all her life! As the days went by, this feeling only increased. Of course, she didn't mind helping him... _'But that's only because he's so nice'_ Hinata told herself in vain. She sighed as she continued down the hall towards her only class with out Naruto for the semester. _'No way can I just give my heart away just like that...'_

She was on her fifth day at this new school and was feeling a bit proud at having reached her first Friday without incident.

"Hinata!" A voice rang out through the hallway behind her.

The girl promptly snapped out of her daze and looked behind her shoulder towards the voice that had called out to her. Sadly, in doing so, she didn't pay attention ahead of herself, the whole reason for the person was calling to her.

_SMACK!_

Ouch! She ran right into the door that just happened to be opening, landing her into an uncomfortable state on her bottom. She hissed in pain, holding her nose, and looked up at the person opening the door whom she recognized immediately. "N- Neji-san! S-so s-s-sorry! A-are you-" she stuttered, but got cut off from the rather pissed-off looking boy.

"Tch. Watch where you're going." he growled at her.

Hinata turned to face the person who called her.

Tenten sighed. "Are you OK? I tried to warn you," she mumbled, holding out a gentle hand to the girl to help her up.

Hinata smiled softly and took the brown-haired girl's hand. "Th-thank you." she whispered, turning the other way in embarrassment. _'Thank goodness Naruto didn't see that! That would have been so ba-'_ She stopped herself right there. _'Wait, what? Why would I care? I've never before... Maybe because these are the first people to accept me for myself...'_

The young Hyuuga stared after her cousin's strides and frowned slightly, debating on going up to him. Why wouldn't he just move on? It was over and it really wasn't her fault. She tried – she really did and so hard.

She turned around, sad and defeated. It was his own life, after all...

Tenten watched her carefully, noticing her downhearted demeanor, but decided she'd better not question it. They did only just meet a few days before and she really didn't need to tell them everything right away! When they got back to their seats, Sakura, Ino, Kiba, and Shikamaru also noticed that something wasn't quite right. They ignored it, counting it as none of their business... Except Kiba.

"Hinata! What's wrong? One of those brooders being a jerk AGAIN?! I'm going to seriously beat their ass-"

"I-it's n-nothing, Kiba-san..." Hinata whispered so quietly, it was really quite a miracle they could still hear it over Kiba's proclamations.

He laughed. "Just Kiba, Hinata-chan!" he grinned, just like Naruto had, only he seemed to be more ... interested? No, that wasn't quite right... If anything, it was more of a close friendship vibe. In any case, she was probably becoming closest with him out of all the guys, since the two were content to just be in each other's presence without any forced communication. Sure, he'd chat with her and had taken the position of tour guide whenever Naruto was unavailable – in detention or like now when he wasn't in the same class. He was also her companion whenever the girls were paired off.

She directed her soft smile with a feathery blush at him. "A-alright, K-Kiba...kun?" she asked, slightly. Hinata had never been called Hinata-chan, nor had she called many people without the -san or -sama suffix. Some girls were the exception – and Naruto, of course.

"Class! Time to start!" A tall male walked into the room, but unfortunately, no one in their little group noticed. "We have to get started right away, so please open your English books to page-" he continued on while the group still hadn't noticed and went on in their conversation.

Kiba grinned. "That works!"

"Tch. Kiba, stop trying to hit on her." Ino scolded, a sharp glare shot straight to him, already on edge from attempting to make Shikamaru care – about life or perhaps whatever gossip she wished to spread farther than her own mind.

Shikamaru sighed as the two started bickering. "How troub-"

"Don't you FRIGGIN' DARE, Shika-kun!" Ino screeched, having heard his little phrase several times already that morning.

They all stared at her for a couple moments until Ino suddenly went bright red.

"Uh... Erm... I-I m-meant... Lazy arse!" She grinned proudly at her newest name for him.

He sighed once again. He had had a moment where he looked up in curious interest, but it was seemed it was only so she'd stop yelling. _'Right...? Right.'_ Yawning, he turned his head, muttering _very_ quietly about troublesome women and ruining a growing boy's nap.

Ino just gave up, throwing her arms to the ceiling in despair. _'It'll never change! Just give up...'_ Little did she know, she meant that in more ways than one.

"Ahem."

Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Kiba all looked up to see their English teacher looking none to happy.

"Are you ready to pay attention now, Yamanaka, instead of screaming?" he asked pointedly at the blond-haired girl, who was now grinning rather sheepishly.

"O-oh. Yeah. Sorry about that. Please continue." Ino mumbled with as much politeness as she could muster.

"Good. Don't let this happen again. Hyuuga?" he asked now turning to the startled girl, obviously catching her off guard. "I know this is your first day here, so why not summarize what we were just talking about, hmm?"

Her eyes widened. She had no idea what they were talking about and this was a teacher who seemed to always be trying to catch her off guard. Apparently he had had high hopes for her as her cousin was his star pupil, but upon discovering she was only average in the class, he seemed to have it out for her.

"You do know, right?" he asked, an evil glimmer seemed to reside in his dark eyes.

She shook her head no, and he 'tsk'ed. "Not a good start, Hyuuga." he sighed, turning to her cousin a couple seats to her left. "What about you? Neji?"

He smirked. "Of course," he said smugly then proceeded to explain a flawless summary of the book they had been reading thus far.

"Excellent! I expected none the less from you, Neji." the teacher praised.

Hinata never felt so embarrassed in her whole life! The bell rang and Hinata was the first to gather up her stuff and dart out of the room, before any of her new friends could catch up. She raced straight outside since it was lunch and slumped behind the school fountain, not even bothering to look around.

"I-I just -sob- started m-making friends f-for the first -sob- time in m-my entire l-life, a-and n-now I've got a t-teacher who hates m-me!" Hinata whimpered, small, crystal tears flowing down her brightened cheeks.

"OI! Hinata!" a voice called out from behind her.

She whipped her head around to the person, and realized it was none other than Naruto. "H-hello N-Naruto-kun." she replied, holding back her sobs.

"Hey!" he smiled, walking towards her, but that smile faltered when he analyzed her face. "What's wrong, Hinata-chan? Did someone bully you? I swear if it's that Neji, I'll punch his lights out!" he exclaimed angrily.

"N-NO!" She frantically waved her arms about. "Th-that's not it!"

"No? Then what is it?" Naruto asked, searching her face for any clues.

"M-my English teacher ... H-He ... He _hates_ me!" Hinata cried, starting her sobs all over again. This was too new of an experience for her to handle in such a stressful week – she had never stood out enough in any of her previous schools to even suspect she was being hated.

Naruto looked confused, but suddenly grinned at her and held his hand out in front of her.

She looked up in confusion, but grasped his hand and he hoisted her up.

"It's OK, Hinata-chan. I know the teacher you're talking about. I had him last year and he hated me, too. The only person I know that he actually likes is Neji." He laughed. "But that's only because he's so goody-goody in there. Forget about it! He warms up enough through out the year. Besides, you can't please everyone, so don't try so hard. Come on," he smiled and brushed away her tears with his thumb, making her heart beat wildly in her chest. "It's lunch and I'm hungry..."

She giggled, now forgetting about his innocent little gesture, and allowed herself to be dragged back to the lunchroom. Really, she was amazed at how fast he could cheer her up, but also at how nervous she felt when he held her hand or touched her at all. Hell, if he even _looked_ at her, she felt so self-conscious and scared, yet excited all the same. Who knows why...? But, she knew that she'd never forget that little sentence _'… you can't please everyone, so don't try so hard'_ and she'd take it to heart.

Once they entered the crowded lunchroom, she went a little closer to him, in fear of everyone else, but then saw the group at one of the tables and felt a little relieved.

They all smiled and waved at the shy girl, ignoring the cry marks, but the girls gave her gentle pats on the shoulder and they made plenty of room for her at their table. The conversations continued, with everyone joining, at least a bit, and Hinata felt that for the first time in her life, she was finally starting to fit in.

Perhaps it could even last and she could make this work. At least until they found out about... _That_. _Her past and her future_.

**AN: **Yeah so I've been combining and extending like crazy with these chapters. If you were a fan of the original story... I am immensely sorry to have ever made you read such utter mess but now hopefully things will make more sense and the plot won't feel so atrocious. Honestly, I have no idea WHAT I was thinking... Then again, I have now graduated high school and I think I wrote the first version of this when I had only just begun grade eight!

- Cady


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Consider it **disclaimed**.

**Helping Hinata**

Ch. 3 – Surprise: Company!

Hinata hummed softly as she made her way from school one week later, coming home on Friday again. It had been two weeks now since she had first come to Konoha High and she had been getting along just fine. Her days mostly consisted of avoiding the three Brooders and getting to know her newest friends, as well as the usual of classes and homework.

Aside from the first day where she was given a ride to school, she had banned Tom from picking her up or dropping her off, afraid that the elegance and sheer wealth the family car and chauffeur implied would scare off her new friends. She wasn't stupid enough to be reckless in her confidence of their new friendship just yet. Sometimes she wondered if she ever would be.

Walking into her family's driveway, Hinata noticed a foreign vehicle already in the driveway alongside her dad's personal silver Mercedes Benz sport car. She stepped inside her house, figuring the usual visitors her mother had over on Fridays. Of course, it was a much different vehicle, but who knows?

Quietly, she stepped into the house from kitchen entrance and found Tom drinking coffee and sending nervous glances towards the sitting room. Once he noticed her however, he sent her his usual smile even if it lacked something in the eyes, and offered to make her a tea. It may be stereotyping, but for Hanabi and Hinata, it was amusing that the English born man loved his tea. Still, if he had switched over to coffee, there must be something serious going on.

As if on cue, her mother called out from the sitting room down the hall. "Hinata? Is that you? Come say hello to our guests!"

"H-hai, mother," Hinata mumbled, doubting her mother could hear her, but Tom caught the sarcastic strain and his grin brightened somewhat. _'She knows I hate talking to new people. Why would she call me? She never has before...'_

This was definitely new for her. When those Friday friends, as her mother called them, came over for dinner, Hinata stayed in her room and ate dinner as far away from them as she could without seeming rude. If she were closer with her friends, she would probably spend these dinners out at a with them instead.

"Hinata-nee-chan." Hanabi grinned, skipping to the front door and grabbing her older sister's arm. "Come meet our relatives. Even our cousin Neji-nii-san is here!"

Well _that_ stopped Hinata dead in her tracks. No way.

"A-ano, H-Hanabi-chan... I-I h-h-h..." She paused. 'Think, think, think!' "Homework! I have homework!" she exclaimed loudly – an unusual thing for Hinata to do.

Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "Homework?" she asked lamely. "I think that can wait. We haven't seen Neji-nii-san in years!"

'Speak for yourself...' Hinata thought glumly.

As the two siblings walked through the living room doors, their mother practically skipped up to them. "Your father's brother is visiting us with his family! I haven't seen Ren in ages." she smiled gleefully and dragged them up to the small group deeper in. The group consisted of Hinata's father, his twin and his wife, and their brooding son... _'Dressed in a suit?! Smiling?! That's got to be fake.'_ Hinata concluded.

Just then, Neji turned to face them, sending a polite smile their way. _'Definitely fake.'_

"Ahhh. Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" he asked, still smiling fakely.

"Of course, Neji-nii-san! It has been far too long." Hanabi grinned, trying out the manners their parents had taught them.

Hinata opened her mouth, about to mention how they went to school together, and maybe something about his fake attitude, when he sent a warning _extra_fake smile at her. She swore that their had been a glare hidden inside of it, and there probably was.

"Y-yes, N-Neji-nii-san. _Far_ too l-long..." she mumbled, emphasizing on the 'far'.

He smiled more, then turned to his parents, who seemed to be chatting happily with her parents.

Noticing that their children had finished talking, Neji's mother, Ren, walked up happily towards them. "Ooooh! Hanabi-chan! It's been years!" she exclaimed, bending down to their level, which wasn't too far down, and hugging the young girl tightly. However just as Ren was about to let go, she sent a cruel glare directed at Hinata.

It was quickly erased, though, and she faced Hinata completely. "I see you've grown well, too, Hinata-chan." With that, she turned back to the her parents again, fake smile back in place.

_'Horrid family. Looong night.'_ Those were the only words that crossed through Hinata's mind as she mentioned something about her homework to her mother before racing upstairs.

"Don't mind Hinata-chan, that's just how she is." She could hear her mother explain to her father's family as Hinata got to the top step and darted straight to her room. She didn't, however, hear Neji offer to help her with her homework.

Hinata sighed as she took out a few books from school. She didn't really have much to do, but hell, she'd stay in that room all night twiddling her thumbs to get away from those people. The whole family hated her. Well... Most anyway...

**Knock**

**Knock**

Hinata gasped and looked up to her partly opened bedroom door, still concealing the figure outside. "C-come in." she muttered, and in stepped Neji.

"Ahhh. Hinata-_chan_, I just came out to help you with your tough homework. You must have a lot if you're willing to stay upstairs to get it all done, so I figured I'd just help you out." he smirked, taking a seat right next to her on the single sized bed.

She scarcely shook her head, not trusting her voice to make out anything other than a squeak. Hinata grabbed a pencil and her notebook, sitting as far as she could away from him.

"Was that a 'no', Hinata-_chan_?" he asked, still smirking, but a hard look was in his eyes.

"Th-thank-you, N-Neji-nii-san, b-but I'm s-sure I c-can m-manage," she got out and tried to motion to the door without seeming rude.

It was futile.

"No, I'm sure I can help you out here. After all, I've got one of the highest scores in the class." Neji said, arrogantly.

She sighed helplessly and let him see the book.

His smirk widened. "Good, good. Now we'll be able to make it down to dinner on time together, ne Hina-_chan_?"

Hinata winced. There was once a time when the two had been so close but him using the same name he had then felt more like spitting at the memory of a time when things had been so much simpler.

"Why can't you just tell them Neji-nii-?"

Neji cut her off, abruptly rising to her feet, face going red, eyes livid. It was more than enough to shake Hinata emotionally and she tried to back-track.

"N-Neji-nii-sa-"

Neji interrupted, biting out mockingly, fiercely, "No, no, Hina-chan! Neji-_kun_. You begged me to let you call me that. Remember? Don't use all these formalities now when you're clearly so. Much. Higher than me now." With every word, he seemed to move closer, trying to force the truth out of her with forcefulness alone.

Hinata didn't want to remember. Not yet. Maybe not even ever. She was too ashamed to admit that could ever have been her.

"NO!" she screamed, pushing him away from her and she raced out of the room and down the stairs. She heard him fall to the ground as she reached the front door, hastily snatching her jacket and jumping into her shoes.

"Hinata-chaaaan?" her mother called. "Where are you going?"

"OUT!" she yelled, not even feeling the tears running freely down her cheeks. Hinata didn't even care that, for the first time in her life, she had raised her voice to her mother.

Just as her mother was about to protest, she slammed the door and ran as fast as she could away from the house.

Her mother sighed. "Maybe it's just as well." she murmured.

Ren stepped up beside her. "Yes, Tora. I think Hanabi would be best. Forget Hinata, would you, dear?"

Tora turned back to her friend. "I guess, but I do love Hinata-chan. I hate to do this to her."

Ren's eyes steeled. "No. Forget her." she said sternly.

Tora was slightly taken back at this, so Ren's eyes softened again as she put a gentle arm around Tora's shoulders. "Come on. Let's go back, OK?"

She nodded as her friend led her back to the living room.

Ren called her son back down and he came down, slightly red in the face, from anger at being ignored and then yelled at or embarrassment at being shoved to his feet by a girl, who knows.

_'I don't care where I'm going, just away from them!'_ Hinata thought, angrily. Now that she was away from her cousin, her fear had almost vanished and her fury had taken it's place.

Unfortunately, even though she had lived in that house her entire life, she had spent most of her time at home or at schools in areas outside of her own and she now cursed that, finding herself unable to find a decent place to hide out.

Hinata decided to go to the only place she really knew in the area other than her school; Konoha's park.

It was a ways away, so by the time she got there, she was balling once again. Too much time to think and too many things to think about.

As she stepped into the park, now jogging, Hinata found a gorgeous sakura blossom tree and plopped under it immediately out of exhaustion.

A few hours later she was just about to fall asleep, when she heard an acoustic guitar playing a little ways away. She was sure that the park was closed by now.

Curiously, Hinata stepped out from under the branches and protection of the sakura tree and there was Sakura Haruno from school! How ironic that she was also sitting comfortably under her name sake's tree.

Hinata smiled as she stepped softly up to the strumming pink haired teen. She hadn't noticed Hinata yet, so Hinata coughed lightly to get her attention.

The moment she heard that, Sakura whipped her head around, saying something about her being allowed to be here, but sighed with relief that it was just Hinata and not a guard or something.

She laughed. "Phew! I'm so glad it's not another guard! Those pests always come up to me when I'm here..."

"You're allowed? Why?" Hinata asked, forgetting her crying from earlier momentarily.

Sakura grinned. "Uchiha's property. Shhh. He let's me use it all the time, but no one else can! Though maybe Naruto..." She paused. "Wait, why are you here?"

Hinata's eyes widened. "A-ano. I-I... Uhhh..."

Sakura laughed. "Don't worry about it! I don't think the crowds of people will mind, or anything!" she said, sarcastically as she motioned to the empty park. "I certainly don't mind – as long as you let me continue playing."

Hinata smiled. "Never! It's beautiful."

Sakura nodded, placing the guitar back into position on her leg. "If you know the tune, join in any time."

Hinata gasped. "Y-you mean... S-sing?!" she asked, incredulously.

"Aww." Sakura pouted. "You were doing so well! No stuttering, just sing Hinata-chan!"

"I-I w-wasn't... stuttering?" she asked slowly.

Sakura nodded her head vigorously. "Yep! None what so ever! Now. Music!"

Hinata laughed; a beautiful sound that made Sakura pause for a moment. "You've got a lovely laugh, you know that? You should laugh more at school. Then again, I'm sure your singing voice is even better."

Before Hinata could say anything to that, Sakura started up a song.

Hinata recognized it immediately and grinned. It was one she listened to all the time at home since she'd come even though it was older and not popular any more, and sang to it to herself a lot more than that!

She paused, debating on singing. Stealing a glance at Sakura who was smiling peacefully as she strummed, Hinata found it encouraging and made up her mind.

**(AN: Song: First Kiss and the Artist: Mandy Moore. Don't ask, I just thought it'd be cute and it kind of fits her...)**

_"Heyy Yeahh_

_Will I close my eyes?_

_Will I hold my breath?_

_Will I want to cry?_

_Will our souls connect?_

_I've been thinking about it when I go to bed,_

_At night I wonder - wonder._

_Will you hold my hand?_

_Will you speak of love?_

_Will the stars be shining in the sky above?_

_Will it be all I've been dreaming of?_

_For so long, holding on._

_Our first kiss won't be the last,  
Our love's too deep to end that fast,  
__And good things come to those who have to wait.  
I believe it's only time (Wait)  
That keeps us from the thing divine,  
__And when it's here you know I'm gonna say  
'Lay it on my lips'!_

Sakura laughed when Hinata winked saucily at that line, having been encouraged when Sakura had started echoing some of the lines. "You're a natural, Hinata!"

The two paused for a moment to share a care free grin before they continued the song.

_Will it taste like candy?  
Will it be that sweet?  
Will our hearts be racing to a heavenly beat?  
Will the moment sweep me off my feet, and draw me under - under!_

_Will I tremble - tremble, when I beg for more?  
Will it be like anything I never felt before?  
Will we be down for a little more  
One thing I - I know for sure._

_Our first kiss wont be the last  
Our loves too deep to end that fast  
And good things come to those who have to wait. (Yeah)  
I believe it's only time (Wait)  
That keeps us from the thing divine,  
And when it's here you know I'm gonna say (You know I'm gonna sayy)  
'Lay it on my lips'._

_Our first kiss wont be the last (Won't be the last)  
Our loves too deep to end that fast (Ohh that fast)  
And good things come to those who have to wait. (Wait)  
I believe it's only time (Wait)  
That keeps us from the thing divine,  
And when it's here you know I'm gonna say (Gonna say now)_

_I can picture it all, inside my head,  
Just how it's going to feel,  
But a girl can only dream so much.  
Now she wants to make it real - make it real!_

_(Foot down) Our first kiss wont be the last  
Our loves too deep to end that fast (So deep)  
And good things come to those who have to wait. (Wait for me)  
I believe it's only time (It's only time)  
That keeps us from the thing divine,  
And when it's here you know I'm gonna say (You know I'm gonna say)  
('Lay it on my lips')_

_Our first kiss wont be the last (Our first kiss) (Won't be the last one)  
Our loves too deep to end that fast (End that fast)  
And good things come to those who have to wait (You know you gotta wait)  
I believe it's only time (I believe)  
That keeps us from the thing divine, (Thing divine)  
And when it's here you know I'm gonna say (Gonna say now)_

_Make it real now  
Make it real now (Yeah)_

_Our first kiss wont be the last (Our first kiss)  
Our loves too deep to end that fast (End that fast)  
And good things come to those who have to wait (You know you gotta wait)  
I believe it's only time (Wait)  
That keeps us from the thing divine, (Ohhh)  
And when it's here you know I'm gonna say (You know I'm gonna say)  
(Make it real now, make it real now) ('Lay on my lips!')_

_Our first kiss wont be the last (Our first kiss) (Won't be the last one)  
Our loves too deep to end that fast  
And good things come to those who have to wait (Wait)  
I believe it's only time (I believe)  
That keeps us from the thing divine, (Thing divine)  
And when it's here you know I'm gonna say  
'Lay it on my lips'!"_

The two finished the song with a flourish, jokingly and giggling like the teenage girls they were, then Sakura put down the guitar and turned to face Hinata.

The girl was half-expecting the worst now, having calmed from their laughing fest, and just in case, had her eyes clenched tight. However when she felt two arms on her shoulders and one set wrapped around her waist from the back, she did a retake. "I was right. It is beautiful."

Hinata quickly opened her eyes, she saw Sakura's - who she was expecting to be there - arm on her right shoulder, Tenten's on her left, and Naruto hugging her gleefully from behind.

"You were right, Sakura. It did help her." Tenten grinned.

"Help?" Hinata asked, forgetting her stutter for a bit.

"Yep!" Sakura smiled. "I already had come to play guitar, and since I have free access, they tagged along. When we noticed you running in crying we thought about leaving, but we couldn't just let you cry, so we waited until your cries subsided, and I started playing. I hoped that you'd come and sing with me. But know this, everything I said was the complete truth."

"I LOVE YOUR SINGING, HINA-CHAN!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, making all three girls wince. Sakura and Tenten because of the noise; Hinata for, well, something that just came back to her. Unfortunately for her, some one noticed.

Tenten leaned down. "What's wrong, Hinata-chan? You winced and it wasn't a 'Naruto Wince'. What's up?"

Naruto frowned at the 'Naruto Wince' part, but ignored it to the best of his ability.

Hinata sighed, _'Maybe it was time...?'_ "The same reason that I'm here."

All three leaned forward in anticipation, nodding for her to continue.

_'Yes, it was time'_, she decided. "Neji-nii-san called me that; Hina-chan." Hinata paused. "Back when we were best friends and before he knew that I was going to inherit our family company."

Three sets of mouths dropped.

"Say _WHAT_?!"

**AN: **Hum so yeah, not the same kind of dilemma – not even the same level of bomb shell dropped – that they had before as I decided I didn't really want to touch upon that subject again and decided to go the old tried-and-true route with a new(?) spin on it. Of course, I'm not naive enough to think that nothing like this has ever been done before, as the Naruto fan fiction world is far too vast for its own good really, but I hope it's all right. (*smiles hopefully*)

- Cady


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Consider it **disclaimed**.

* * *

**Helping Hinata**

Ch. 4 – A Naïve Past

_"Neji-nii-san called me that; Hina-chan." Hinata paused. "Back when we were best friends and before he knew that I was going to inherit our family company."_

_Three sets of mouths dropped._

_"Say _WHAT_?!"_

"You're the _heir_ to a _milliondollar_ company?" Sakura asked, feeling incredulous.

"You and Neji-teme were best friends?" Naruto blurted, earning himself a glare from Tenten, another former best friend of the male Hyuuga.

Hinata nodded feebly. "I-I... When w-we were y-younger, my d-dad was always tr-trying to best his tw-twin brother and be-because he was the eld-eldest born, he was ch-chosen to inherit the c-company." She broke off, trying to gain control of her shaky breathing to get the story out. "Neji and I... We were always shoved together and-and my dad caused his f-family so m-much p-pain but I didn't know and was told to be fr-friends with him! When I found out what my dad was tr-trying to d-do – I _tried_ to tell him... b-but..."

Tenten and Sakura exchanged worried glances. "I never knew Neji had a past like that..." Tenten murmured.

"We-well Neji should've been the heir for the company, s-since my mom c-couldn't have any more kids after Hanabi a-and it's s-supposed to go to the f-first born _male_. But Otou-sama found a way around it and b-before anyone could f-find out, I was set to in-inherit the company... Neji-nii-sama has never for-forgiven me for it." Hinata's head shot up. "Ah! But he's not a b-bad guy!"

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "You're saying he has been cruel to you and never forgiven after all this time and yet-"

"-But I can't blame him! I took everything away from him – I played right into my d-dad's hands! And then- Then when all he needed was someone who was there for him, since his o-own dad was f-furious, I-I-_I abandoned him_!" Hinata looked horrified and absolutely furious with herself.

Both Sakura and Tenten snuggled up to Hinata's sides to comfort her.

She took a deep breath, finding solace in the warmth of their friendship, then continued. "He's n-never really had any good friends o-other than you and Lee," she nodded to Tenten here, "And th-this all happened just before Gaara a-and Sakura came, I guess..."

"What was wrong with Lee and I?" Tenten asked, head drooping slightly.

"Well, l-like I said, we had fallen out so badly and stopped even talking to each other. He pr-probably needed... Ano. A change of scenery?" she asked, unsure. She wasn't always that good with this type of thing. "It was more like we considered each other siblings; twins even, our connection was s-so ... so strong. I called him Neji-kun and he called me Hina-chan and we really were like a very close brother and sister."

"Well?" Naruto started, getting the feeling that he was being left out. "Why haven't you tried to fix this before? Especially since you guys have been going to the same school"

"He found out that his parents hated me and the full extent of my dad's plans." She sighed. "I think something happened tonight, though... It must've been the cause for their sudden appearance tonight..."

"Whose appearance?" Tenten prodded, carefully.

"Neji-nii-sama, Hizashi-ojii-sama, and R-Ren-obaa-sama all came to the house tonight and I think it's because..." Hinata paused before she finally admitted her own distant inklings and let them catch up with her. "They must have picked a husband."

"Nani?!" Naruto exclaimed, gasping in shock. "Why those bastards..." he grumbled, standing up and fully ready to go off and pummel the head of the Hyuuga house, when Hinata's flailing arms grasped onto his arm and pulled him down, gently.

"No! Don't go after them! N-not because of me." She cast her eyes downward in shame. "I don't want you to hate him-"

"Too late for that." he growled.

"-Because of m-me. Ho-honestly, it w-would only make it w-worse. B-but back to Neji-nii..." Her eyes took on a devilish tint as she continued, running with a new subject to calm Naruto down as quickly as possible. "I've always kno-known who he l-likes and it still ha-hasn't changed to this day."

Tenten's head shot up and looked Hinata straight in the eye. Not only did she see a teasing nature to them, she also saw a hint of sincerity. "Who?" she asked quietly, dreading the answer. _'I knew it. It was bad enough that I wasn't even his closest friend and never knew anything important about him, but now I find out he's liked someone forever.'_

"A ... brunette." Hinata said, grin in place, gaining rapid confidence. "She's quite sporty and plays drums just like him. Turns out they have a lot in common and he's definitely liked her … for a long time."

Tenten just about missed the hints. "That's one lucky girl. Sounds a lot like... HEY!" she cried out, swirling around to an 'innocent' Hinata. "That describes me perfectly!"

Hinata chuckled lightly, and was about to add something, when Tenten continued.

"I had no idea that there was another person just like me. That also means that I'm like Neji!"

Hinata and Sakura slapped their foreheads. _'Of course. Only Tenten could figure something like that.'_ Sakura decided to give one more hint, having caught on long ago. "Yeah, I heard about that. He also hung out with her and another friend for the longest time, but never said anything in fear of pushing her away."

Hinata nodded in agreement and the two females watched Tenten's reaction carefully.

"Hung out...? Another friend as well...? Pushing away...?" Tenten murmured, slowly connecting the dots. Suddenly an emotion crossed her face in alarm. "...!" She jumped up, grabbing her jacket that had been thrown on the ground previously and turned. "See ya, guys! Gotta find Neji!"

Hinata had a peaceful smile on her face as she closed her eyes and leaned up against the Sakura blossom tree again. Naruto and Sakura watched her. "Is it true?" Sakura asked.

Hinata opened an eye. "Of course. I wouldn't lie. Neji has liked- maybe even loved Tenten for the longest time. It was the biggest topic when we were younger, and even back then, I had figured it all out."

"Wow," Sakura and Naruto chorused.

"Well, I better get going. Good luck on that singing career, ne, Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked, playfully, even though she was really serious about it.

"W-will do." Hinata smiled.

As Sakura skipped out of the park, Naruto kept his full attention on the peaceful girl in front of him.

Hinata raised an eyebrow when she noticed his stare, questioningly.

"You know something?" Naruto started, a serene, true smile gracing his lips. Hinata cocked her head to the side and Naruto just chuckled. "You're an amazing girl. I can tell that no one has ever tried to become your friend before and the first that did was your cousin who was in love with a girl and only talked about her while you sat around and watched. Still, you defend him and even set the two up together. It's a pity that no one has ever tried to look through your quiet exterior before and seen the true Hinata on the inside."

Hinata sat up, facing Naruto fully. Her eyes were brimming with happy tears. "Thank you, Naruto," she gasped, then through her arms around his neck, sobbing lightly into his shoulder.

Slightly shocked, Naruto awkwardly held his arms out and pulled her in closer.

A couple minutes later, her tears had died down and she noticed it was getting dark. However, just before she started heading back to her house, she turned slightly. "Thank you, but it's a true pity that no one has ever tried to see past your goofy exterior to see your true self, too. See you on Monday, Naruto."

With one last smile, she turned back and kept smiling as she strolled home, happy once again and relieved from all of her crying in a way that only a girl can truly appreciate.

Naruto was speechless. She could read him so well, and he felt so natural around her; he didn't have to goof up to get her attention - she gave it unconditionally to him. That meant so much to him. _'Thank you... Hina-chan.'_

* * *

**AN: **Okay, so she cried A LOT, but I think she really needed to just let it all go and then slowly, slowly, I can start pushing out the stutters from her speech. My fingers cry a lot too, you know... (*laughs*)

Leave love,

- Cady


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Consider it **disclaimed**.

**Helping Hinata**

Ch. 5 - Neji and Tenten

The weekend passed by quickly as they are prone to do and before they all knew it, Monday morning had come.

Of course, with this dreaded day following a peaceful break, something bad just had to happen.

"Hinata-chan!" Tora called out, skipping into the dining room where her daughter sat, drinking some orange juice before school.

Hinata raised her head in acknowledgement, then remembered her manners. "Y-yes mother?"

"I just received some excellent news!" she exclaimed, practically prancing back and forth between the toaster and the coffee machine.

'Someone is energetic this morning...' Hinata thought, stifling a yawn. "Hm?"

"Mou, show some interest, Hinata-chan!" Tora pouted.

Hinata giggled. "Then what happened, O-Okaa-san?"

Tora grinned, excitedly snatching up the toast that had just popped. "We are going to have our favourite people finally move in with us!" She caught her daughter's confused facial expression and continued. "Ren and Neji! Isn't this just so... AH! Coffee's done!"

In rushing to find her newest mug, she missed Hinata's shocked face. "W-what?"

Not that Hinata didn't mind Neji so much, it was that Ren. 'Great,' Hinata mumbled, inwardly. _'The cruel woman- No. I'll _try_ to be nice to her. But I doubt it'll work – I know they still resent me.'_ Her uncle, though related by blood, disliked her, but he was not as adamant as his wife. Hyuuga Ren had always felt cheated by Hinata's existence in ways that Hinata herself had never had the power to change.

"Can't wait," she mumbled, grabbing her backpack and kissing her mother on the cheek.

Just as she was stepping out the door, her mother noticed something. "Hey Hina-chan?"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning her head slightly.

"I don't know what happened to make you more... open, but whatever or whomever it is, tell them 'thanks' for me, okay?"

Hinata smiled brightly then turned to face her properly. "Will do," she whispered.

Her mother grinned. "Oh!" she exclaimed, spinning on her heel. "My coffee is ready!"

As Hinata arrived at her school, she recognized Sakura immediately by her pink hair and started towards her. Once she got closer, however, she noticed three teenagers standing next to and talking. Gaara was one of them, so she guessed that the other two were their other siblings.

Gathering up her courage and people skills, the indigo haired female made her way through the last part of the crowd to stand next to her new friend.

"H-hey Sakura!"

The pink haired girl spun around and smiled the moment she saw Hinata. "Hey Hinata-chan!"

The three beside her furrowed their brows. "Who's this, Sakura?" the oldest looking one asked. The girl, whom Hinata guessed to be Temari by her friend's descriptions, had her light blond hair in four ponytails and green eyes, much like Gaara's and Sakura's.

That meant that the boy beside her was Kankuro. He had dark brown, unruly hair with a black hat placed firmly on his head, slightly off to the side. His eyes were different from his siblings, a deep brown colour, and he had football paint on his face like Kiba That was probably where Hinata had seen him before, as she had been to one of their games on Friday with Naruto and Tenten.

"This is my friend, Hinata. She came just last week." Sakura told them, sending a light glare to Kankuro when she noticed him checking her out. 'Not yours' she mouthed to the older boy. He just gave a playful glare back, but stopped staring.

"The name's Kankuro," he introduced easily.

"Temari."

"Hn."

Sakura blanked at her brother's response and gave a frustrated eye roll that had Hinata giggling. "N-nice to m-meet you all."

"Yeah, yeah, you too." Temari replied, waving her hand slightly as if a dismissal of some sort.

Kankuro grinned. "Well, we better get going. See ya, pipsqueak Hyuuga."

Hinata nodded a bit, and just as she and Sakura were about to leave, Gaara took Sakura's arm gently. "After school. I'll be in the front," he told her firmly, but his expression remained unchanged.

His sister just laughed. "Sure, sure. See you guys later!" she called out, then nudged Hinata. "We better get going, eh?"

"Yeah, I have Chemistry." Hinata agreed, following her friend into the building.

In class, Hinata immediately found Naruto, her lab partner, and walked straight over to him.

When he saw her, he gave out this huge smile. "Hey Hinata-chan!"

She smiled back. "Hello N-Naruto-kun."

Since she was one of the last people to enter the class, she took out her things right away, and the two got to work.

While they were working, though, they also chatted to help make the time go by faster. Soon, Hinata found her self forgetting about being her usual, nervous self, and was getting pretty comfortable.

That is until Naruto brought up a slightly _different_ topic.

"Hey, Hinata-chan?"

"Hmm?" Hinata turned to her crush. She had being doing great without her stuttering, but every time he said her name in the sentence, she remembered who she was talking to and tried not to speak too much.

"Ano… I was wondering," Naruto started off, unsure of himself for once. "Have you… Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

Hinata gasped and sputtered. "Wh-what?! A-a b-b-boyfriend?" And she had been doing so great, too... Oh well.

"Erm, yeah. Have you?" he asked, then added quickly, "You don't have to answer, you know-" Now he was reconsidering that question after her reaction. Maybe she didn't li-

"N-no. I haven't, N-Naruto-kun." she admitted then paused. "H-have you? Had a g-girlfriend, I mean."

Naruto laughed then shook his head. "Naw. I want one, though…"

She then decided that this was getting slightly too personal, and changed the subject. "S-so ... How did you do on your chemistry test?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Uh, I got a 'C-'…"

\Hinata's eyes widened at that response. "What?!" she yelped, ignoring the stares for a change. "You're going to f-fail if you're not careful, N-Naruto-kun!"

"I know, Hinata-chan." Naruto whined, giving his little pout that reminded Hinata of a scolded... fox, or something with whiskers. "It's hard, though…"

Hinata reprimanded, then a brilliant idea came to her. "How about if I help you study for the next test?" she offered, her stuttering now completely gone.

He thought about it for a moment. "Really?"

She smiled brightly. "Of course!"

"Thanks so much, Hinata-chan!" he cheered, throwing his arms around the, now fully red-faced girl.

"A-ano… N-no p-p-problem." Hinata stuttered out, but she wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment, lack of oxygen, or something else…

"Naruto," a voice came from behind the still cheering boy hugging his suffocating friend.

Said boy spun around with Hinata in his grasp, cheering subsided. "Hey, Sasuke-teme! Guess what? Hinata-chan's gonna tutor me!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yes, she is!" Naruto shouted at him with a glare.

"Hn."

Naruto huffed. "I don't care if you don't believe me. Hinata does. Right?"

Hinata just nodded quickly, not wanting to get in the way of their … erm, fight.

Sasuke just hummed his response, then turned around to head back to Gaara and Neji.

"I told you, dattebayo!" the blond laughed, pointing at the retreating boy's back.

Hinata turned to Naruto with a questioning gaze, to which he laughed again in response and added, "I've known Sasuke-teme for years now. Some even consider us best friends!"

Well Hinata was surprised at this. "R-really?" she asked. "I never would've guessed that you two would be best friends."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Not many do," he admitted.

Just then, the teacher walked in. "Today we're going to start researching for the experiments we're going to teach each other. Remember, this is worth as much as a test, so do not slack off. This could be your chance to make up for some past marks..."

Naruto grinned, giving an embarrassed shrug of the shoulders, knowing that comment was meant for him.

"Of course we'll be heading to computer lab today. We only have two days there so use the time wisely."

Kiba and Naruto grinned at each other, remembering many projects they spent just gaming.

After spending the better part of the hour finding an experiment they were allowed to both legally do and we're interested enough in doing, the bell rang.

"Math," Naruto grumbled as they stood up from their computers and headed to their next class.

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Hinata smiled encouragingly at her companion, her mind still half on their elephant toothpaste idea.

Naruto grimaced. "Hope you're right, Hinata-chan. It's pop-quiz-Monday."

Tenten ran cheerfully into the gymnasium. She had chosen this class instead of art or chemistry, as she was a more sporty girl than an artistic or brainy one. Of course, Neji being in this one was just a bonus!

She grinned as she grabbed a basket ball and did a lay-up on the highest hoop.

_Swish!_

_'What a lovely sound.'_ Tenten thought, snatching the ball back up after only one bounce and dribbled it back to the shooting line.

"Nice shot."

Tenten spun around to see Neji watching her. He had obviously been the one to speak to her. "Um... Thanks." she said, rather awkwardly. Hey, it wasn't everyday that a person got a compliment from the almighty Hyuuga – not to mention a girl.

He just nodded back to her before throwing his own ball towards the net.

_Bonk._

_Swish!_

He had got it in after it hit the back board.

Tenten grinned at him. "You too."

Neji smirked. "I know."

Tenten's eyes widened for a moment before narrowing dangerously. _'What an arrogant...'_ "Hmph."

He chuckled, then grabbed the ball from her hands. She started, then realized what he did. _'That jerk just stole the ball from me ... and dropped his own! Oh, he'll pay for doing that._' With that last thought, Tenten raced after Neji, darting in between the other students, and blocked him from get a point. "Ha!"

Neji just chuckled again, then pivoted on one foot and pivoted back to fool her and shot.

... Missed.

"Yes!" Tenten cheered, and grabbed the ball before it even had a chance to fall. Realizing quickly that she caught it, she raced back to the other net, Neji at her heels.

By the time the bell rang to signal the end of the class, they had each scored 18 points.

"Good game." Tenten smiled.

"You too." he said back, then walked off.

Just before he went out the gym doors, though, he stopped and added, "If you're here after school, do you want to play some more and finish the game. Like old times?"

Tenten nodded then watched him walk off. "Like old times." she repeated and grinned widely.

A teacher interrupted her thoughts. "You coming? We're locking the doors!"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, running to the doors. "Yeah, I'm coming."

In Math, Hinata walked into the classroom, Naruto at her side. "There's Sasuke, Gaara, ... and Sakura? What are they doing together?" Hinata asked.

Naruto frowned. "I'm not sure. They do talk a bit, but I've never seen them sitting together."

She shrugged. "Oh well. Let's go up to them."

"Okay." he agreed, and the two walked to where they were sitting, to find Tenten, Lee, and Neji sitting together.

They sent questioning gazes at them, and Tenten noticed. "Oh yeah. We've been put into math groups. You two are over there with Kiba."

Hinata nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem." Tenten grinned, doing the 'peace' sign at her with two of her fingers.

"Alright, class." Kurenai started from the front of the classroom. "Turn to page 83 and we'll get started. We'll have a test after a review, then-"

Hinata zoned out. _'School's getting easier and Neji and Tenten look closer than ever. Hmmm.'_ she thought, turning her attention to a certain pink-haired girl and black-haired boy. _'Sasuke and Sakura next.'_

**AN: **Hmm, you know what's good? One Direction. Oh yes, I have SO hopped on that band-wagon, and yeah I did so several months ago, but I'm still in love with them. Ahh, well what's good is good and who's hot is hot. (*laughs*)

Anyhow, sorry for the delay. My life is packed and these upcoming chapters required a _lot_ of planning. :\

_- Cady_


End file.
